I have a question. I may be remembering wrong, but in Twilight I can't recall anyone having a cellphone, iPod, or any sort of portable device at all. However in New Moon lots of people seemed to magically obtain them. Am I remembering wrong, or is this explained in the books?

They had cell phones in Twilight, but usually didn't need them. They pulled them out when James entered the scene. Bella is rather poor in Twilight, and only had old items like an aged computer. Charlie only seemed interested in television related technology, but it is rather odd that he didn't get his own daughter one seeing as he is a cop.

Once Bella became a part of Edward's world, she began to get the technology that the Cullens readily had available. The lack of modern technology is a quaint touch that I enjoyed in Twilight. Bella's parents can't afford them, so she just does without them. Wish my teenagers would be so lax!

Ah, yes. That makes more sense. Thanks for clearing that up.It is kind of strange, though, how Charlie didn't at least get Bella a cheap cellphone for emergencies; he's a cop after all. I know my mom literally dragged me to a communications store and made me get a cellphone so she could get in touch with me after school and whatnot. It seems a little odd that a cop wouldn't even bother giving his daughter a way to call him if her truck died in the middle of nowhere or something.Speaking of which, why doesn't Charlie have some kind of alarm system in his house? He's a cop, I'd think he'd be more security conscious than most, but apparently the only security he has is a simple deadbolt on his front door.

TNO wrote:Speaking of which, why doesn't Charlie have some kind of alarm system in his house? He's a cop, I'd think he'd be more security conscious than most, but apparently the only security he has is a simple deadbolt on his front door.

I would think he felt that he didn't need an alarm in a city with a population of 3000 people. In a lot of places that small people don't even lock their doors, because they know everybody. And with Charlie being a cop, he probably knew the likelihood of someone breaking into his house. And that would be very small, I imagine. At least since he didn't know about all the mythical creatures outside his doorstep

We lived for several years in Washington State and did a lot of hiking and camping in the Olympic Peninsula. There isn't a lot of cell phone coverage there. (Yes, we have been several times through Forks, but that was in the last century - I am so old!)

Having said that, Charlie being a cop would have gotten some type of cell phone for his kiddo, I can guarantee it. Of course, before she met Edward, she never went anywhere, so he may have thought she didn't need it. Silly guy!

TNO wrote:Speaking of which, why doesn't Charlie have some kind of alarm system in his house? He's a cop, I'd think he'd be more security conscious than most, but apparently the only security he has is a simple deadbolt on his front door.

I would think he felt that he didn't need an alarm in a city with a population of 3000 people. In a lot of places that small people don't even lock their doors, because they know everybody. And with Charlie being a cop, he probably knew the likelihood of someone breaking into his house. And that would be very small, I imagine. At least since he didn't know about all the mythical creatures outside his doorstep

I live in a town with a shade over 2,000 people. We still have crime. Hell, we've got an entire little community of meth addicts. And though we don't have a security alarm, I know plenty of people who live closer to town who do. I'd think that what with Charlie being a cop and all, he'd have a more paranoid view of the crime rate- he's in the thick of it every day, after all. And him having an alarm wouldn't be too much of a hindrance to the plot; if Edward can disable Bella's truck engine, he can probably disable a trivial little alarm easily.

@Openhome: Well, sure, you can't always get coverage. Lots of places are like that. But I'm sure Bella could get coverage at in town, and- as I said- my town is smaller than Forks and mom still goes psycho on me if I don't have my cellphone with me at school. Meh. It's a minor issue, I suppose.

Who in their right mind would go into the police chief's house to rob it? Really the only dangers to them when Bella was around was the kind that a deadbolt or security system couldn't keep out, so it wouldn't matter anyways.

A cheap phone probably would have been good for Bella considering what a dump her truck was. While it worked for the human, she still knew squat about cars and if anything happened, she wouldn't be able to call anyone she did know.

Plus, the access you get depends of the server you got. I'm on Virgin, and went on a trip through the mountains a few years ago and was in the middle of nowhere and got service that some of the people I was with didn't get with Rogers, Bell, or Telus.

Bella's cell didn't bother me in the movie- it was a pretty basic one. If it had been a fancy smartphone, it would have bothered me

The Mac bothered me ,though. Macs are expensive, and Bella and Charlie don't have all that much money. It would have made so much more sense for her to have a basic, no frills, inexpensive laptop. I suppose it could have been from Phoenix, but I wasn't under the impression Renee and Phil had all that much money, either.

Bruquita wrote:Bella's cell didn't bother me in the movie- it was a pretty basic one. If it had been a fancy smartphone, it would have bothered me

The Mac bothered me ,though. Macs are expensive, and Bella and Charlie don't have all that much money. It would have made so much more sense for her to have a basic, no frills, inexpensive laptop. I suppose it could have been from Phoenix, but I wasn't under the impression Renee and Phil had all that much money, either.

The Mac bothered me as well. I was hoping that she would have had the slow crappy one she did in the book. I don't think she should have ha an updated computer. Wasn't it mentioned though in the book (twilight anyways) that she had a savings account? so really, that could have been where she got the computer from as well as the cell phone.